A window display at Harbor Books in Old Saybrook, Conn., is generating
interest and sales--and it's not promoting February's most hyped
holiday, Valentine's Day. Instead it has to do with another hot topic:
global warming.
Inspired by the unseasonably warm weather in much of the Northeast this
winter (although not these past few days), Harbor Books owner Liz Burton has devoted
the prime display space to titles such as An Inconvenient Truth and You
Can Prevent Global Warming (And Save Money!): 51 Easy Ways. Books like
the essay collection Leading Out: Mountaineering Stories of Adventurous
Women are also part of the mix as are children's titles. For young
readers there is Mary Pope Osborne's Polar Bears Past Bedtime, Anne
Rockwell's Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?, and other tales.
"By now here in southern Connecticut our schools have usually had two
or more snow days and people are talking about getting out of the
weather," said Burton. "In the past, I've done travel windows with
aloha and luau themes. This year we've barely worn winter coats, and so
I did global warming."
Devoting the window space to a theme like global warming rather than
Valentine's Day is the result of both personal preference and fiscal
sense. By the time the end-of-the-year juggernaut of holidays has
passed, from back-to-school days and Halloween through Thanksgiving and
Christmas, "I'm ready for something different," said Burton, who explained that Valentine's Day is simply not a money-maker for
Harbor Books. A nearby Wal-Mart provides stiff competition for
bestselling books, greeting cards and other sideline items. "They sell
book lights for $2.99," said Burton. "I can't compete with that." She
noted, too, that Harbor Books is located in a shopping area with
several other retailers that sell traditionally popular Valentine's Day
gifts, among them a florist, a jewelry store and a gift shop with
homemade candy.
Instead of devoting valuable display space to holiday merchandise,
Burton has selected a few items to handsell to those customers looking
for a Valentine's Day present. One is the Food Lovers' Guide to
Connecticut by Patricia Brooks and Lester Brooks. Another is Townie
Line gear, T-shirts and hats bearing the slogan "Townie: Old Saybrook,
CT." Harbor Books is the exclusive distributor of Townie Gear
merchandise in Old Saybrook, and Burton grouped pink T-shirts and red
hats together with a card that reads: "Wouldn't your sweetie love
this?" The Townie Line gear is a hit with local residents, whose
seaside town of 10,000 swells to four times that size during the summer
months.
Summer is peak season for Harbor Books, when sales go "through the roof," said Burton. During the other nine months of
the year, Burton focuses on cultivating local connections and
responding to customer needs--and sometimes even her own. A display of
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts merchandise resulted from her sons' frequent
need for scout supplies. She heard other mothers express the same need,
and the store now carries socks, scrapbook kits and other official
merchandise from the organizations.
Near the Scouts display is a selection of books about summer
camps and activities for kids and teens, information Burton sought five
years earlier when she moved to Connecticut but could not readily find.
Burton has arranged the books--among them titles on camping and family
travel like Frommer's 500 Places to Take Your Kids before They Grow
Up--with water bottles and trail mix.
The local connection that has proved the most rewarding for Harbor
Books is that of screen legend Katharine Hepburn. The store carries
about 85 new and out of print books pertaining to the actress, whose
family had a seaside house nearby. A fundraiser is being held this
month in the town to raise money for the Katharine Hepburn Cultural
Arts Center, and a poster featuring the event is currently the
centerpiece of a display made up of such titles as Kate Remembered by
A. Scott Berg, At Home With Kate: Growing Up in Katharine Hepburn's
Household by Eileen Considine-Meara, The Films of Katharine Hepburn,
The Films of Spencer Tracy and Hepburn's own The Making of the African
Queen.
The summer Hepburn died coincided with the release of Harry Potter and
the Order of the Phoenix. Harbor Books sold a modest amount of the J.K.
Rowling tale, a book that Burton notes customers could purchase
elsewhere at a substantial discount. The young wizard took a back seat
to the movie star, and his adventure was outsold by The Private World
of Katherine Hepburn. This coffee table tome, which contains
photographs by John Bryson and commentary by the actress, is one of the
store's bestselling titles. Who needs Valentine's Day when you have
Katharine Hepburn?--Shannon McKenna
Harbor Books is located at 270 Main Street, Old Saybrook, Conn. 06475;
860-388-6850. The store's Web site is www.harborbooks.com.
